


Rehabilitation

by Andraste



Category: Doctor Strange (Animated Movie)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-26
Updated: 2012-12-26
Packaged: 2017-11-22 11:32:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/609371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andraste/pseuds/Andraste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five things Stephen is happy to be able to do with his hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rehabilitation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [toxictattoo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/toxictattoo/gifts).



> **Warning:** This story contains non-graphic depiction of sky burial. (Unsurprisingly, this is not covered by the archive's standard warnings.)

1.

When he wakes up in the Sanctum Sanctorum, Stephen finds a hot bath waiting. "You didn't have to do that," he says.

"You earned it," Wong replies with a smile.

Stephen swings the bathroom door closed and undresses, things that are suddenly easy again. He's never previously appreciated the ability to undo the buttons on his pants without effort or pain. His hands obey him, and even the numbness from the nerve damage has vanished.

By the time he's clean, the scent of Jasmine tea fills the air. Stephen wraps his fingers around the warm cup and inhales deeply.

2.

When they take the Ancient One back to Tibet, Stephen assumes it's to dig a grave. He's confused when Wong conjures a sharp blade.

“He should be buried in the sky.”

“How do you bury someone in – oh.” Stephen follows Wong's eyes to the birds circling above.

“I'll understand if you wish to leave.”

“No. He was my Master too.”

It isn't as though he's never cut up a body before, and magic is better than a bone saw. When they're done, he puts his arms around Wong and holds him, both of them covered in blood.

3.

Just because he's Sorcerer Supreme, it doesn't mean that Wong stops his lessons. Magic comes to him like breathing now, but there are plenty of other things he has to learn the hard way.

Day after day, they fight. Day after day, Wong beats him black and blue. He isn't gentle now the way he was when Stephen was just starting out. Raw magical talent is no match for decades of careful training in hitting people with sticks.

Afterwards, Wong always helps Stephen up from the floor and tells him he did well. Sometimes, Stephen starts to believe him.

4.

The first time Wong kisses him, Stephen puts a hand on the back of his head and pulls him so close that they touch everywhere. Part of Stephen wants to climb inside him, and he wonders if that might actually be possible in this new world.

Their clothes fall away like dead leaves, and Wong's hands are everywhere, learning everything.

When Stephen puts his fingers inside Wong he doesn't make a sound, but Stephen feels every part of him tense and then relax. He shuts his eyes and feels himself move inside his brother, his teacher, his lover.

5.

He can weave magic between his fingers like a cat's cradle, and as in cat's cradle, two can weave together. Sometimes he and Wong make the walls in the Nexus stronger, sometimes they use the weaving to travel. Sometimes it's just play. Stephen takes more delight in the simple feeling of directionless magic as it flows through himself, and Wong, and the universe, than he's ever taken in anything.

“You've learned well,” Wong tells him approvingly.

"There's always something else to know," Stephen replies.

He holds up his hands, palms against Wong's, and wonders what he'll learn to do with them next.


End file.
